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Women in the Curriculum / Women's Studies |
The Bachelor of Arts in Women's Studies
The Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies is an interdisciplinary program offered by the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program with faculty on loan from a variety of academic units or hired part time for their particular expertise. Students who have majored in Women’s Studies are employed in social service work, health services, business, law, education, and government at all levels. They find employment in public policy fields and businesses, working with women specifically or with people in general. In the private sector graduates are successful in management positions, especially those involving work with diverse groups of people.
Women’s Studies majors will gain a more complete understanding of how the social construction of gender has influenced roles, contributions, and experiences of women in many different cultures, now and in the past. Such awareness can help them better understand our contemporary world with its changing roles for women and men alike. They will bring to the gender analysis of any situation knowledge of the complexity of its interaction with race, social class, sexual orientation, and other forms of diversity. They will be able to recognize the connection between Women’s Studies scholarship and the scholarship of other disciplines. Students will develop an appreciation for the connections between Women’s Studies scholarship, activism, and social change, historically and in the present. They will develop the critical intellectual capacity and necessary communication skills to work to value and improve the position of all women in whatever public or private spheres they choose.
Ann Schonberger
Director and Advisor for the Major
(207) 581-1229
Ann.Schonberger@umit.maine.edu
Mazie Hough
Associate Director and Advisor for the Minor
(207) 581-1225
Mazie.Hough@umit.maine.edu
Angela Hart
Administrative Assistant
(207) 581-1228
Angela.Hart@umit.maine.edu
The goals of the Women's Studies Program
are:
- To teach and learn about
all women's experiences, past and present
- To make women visible in
their similarities and differences
- To value personal experience
as a way of knowing
- To create new knowledge about
women and apply it to personal, political, and institutional
change
- To strengthen the links among
women and among women's programs in the community and on
campus
- To empower women by increasing
choices in all women's lives
The major consists of at least 36
credit hours structured this way:
Required
Courses, 6 courses (18 credits)
WST 101
Introduction to Women's Studies (Both Semesters, Summer)
WST 340 Women and Globalization (Spring)
WST 410 Feminist Theory (Fall)
WST 480 Senior Seminar in Women's Studies (Spring & Sometimes Fall)
HTY 332 Womanhood in America (Fall)
SOC 330 Perspectives on Women (Fall)
Distribution
Requirements, 3 courses (9 credits),
one
course from each of the following categories:
(1) Culture (2) Society and Public Policy
(3) Health, Science, and the Environment
1.
Culture
CMJ 405
Women and Communication
ENG 246 American Women's Literature
ENG 256 British Women's Literature
ENG 471 Literature, Gender, and Gender Theory
ENG 481 Topics in Women's Literature
HTY 494 Women, History, and America Society: Selected Topics
PHI 236 Feminist Ethical, Social, and Political Theory
WST 235 Franco American Women's Experience
WST 250 Women and Music
WST 360 Feminism and Cinema
Or, another course by permission
2.
Society and Public Policy
CHF 451
Family Relationships
CHF 452 Violence in the Family
CMJ 405 Women and Communication (cannot count in two categories)
POS 385 Women and Politics
SOC 304 Sociology of Lesbian and Gay Families and Relationships
SOC 319 Domestic Violence and Social Structure
SOC 329 Sociology of Gender
WST 103 Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
WST 371 Immigration, Women, and Society
WST 430 Women in Europe
Or, another course by permission
3.
Health, Science, and the Environment
NUR 420
Women's Health (Fall)
WST 230 Women, Health, and the Environment (Spring)
Or, another course by permission
The remaining 9 credits can
be taken from among the courses listed above, additional approved
departmental electives or Women's Studies topics courses, internships,
independent study courses, or courses taken at other universities
in the U.S. or abroad. Indeed internships, study abroad, and
national student exchange opportunities are strongly encouraged.
At least 18 credits, including
the senior seminar, must be taken at the University of Maine.
Students must have a C average (2.0) in the courses taken for
the major.
The courses listed above are
given at least once a year, but in recent years there has also
been a wealth of additional topics courses offered both in
Women's Studies and in departments. Lists of interdisciplinary
and departmental courses available in Women's Studies are published
every semester during pre-registration periods. They are also
available online.
Recommended Curriculum
for a BA in Women's Studies
Because the
Women's Studies major is new and is intended to be highly individualized
for each student, no sample curriculum is offered. Students
interested in the major should take WST 101 as soon as possible,
because it is a prerequisite for all the other WST courses
and can be an alternate prerequisite for many of the departmental
electives. WST 410 is usually taken in the fall of the junior
year and WST 480 in the senior year. Student majors should
also consult with the director early and frequently to plan
an appropriate course of study for themselves.
The Minor in Women's Studies
The minor consists of at least 18
credit hours structured in this way:
Required courses, 3 courses ( 9 credits)
WST 101 Introduction to Women's Studies
WST 410 Feminist Theory
WST 480 Senior Seminar in Women's Studies
The remaining 9 credits can be
taken from among the courses listed above, additional approved
departmental electives or Women's Studies topics courses, internships,
independent study courses, or courses taken at other universities
in the U.S. or abroad.
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